Recipe of the Week | Patriotic flag recipes

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Try these patriotic flag recipes as we celebrate the 234th year of our nation’s independence.

Sugar Star and Flag cookies

(All recipes from www.tasteofhome.com)

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. cream cheese, softened

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. lemon extract

5 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Decorating icing and/or colored sugars

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extracts.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with floured 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugars as desired.

Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate with icing and additional sugars if desired. Yield: 10 dozen.

American Flag Berry Pie

Pastry for a double-crust pie (9 inches)

2 1/2 c. pitted dark sweet cherries

2 1/2 c. fresh blueberries

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp. butter

Additional sugar

Line a 9-inch pie plate with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Set aside.

In a large bowl, gently combine cherries and blueberries. Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; stir into fruit. Let stand for 10 minutes. Pour into crust;

dot with butter.

Roll out remaining pastry into a 10-inch circle. Cut into four wedges. Using a 1-inch star cookie cutter, cut out stars from one wedge. Place cutout pastry wedge over filling. Discard cutout stars.

Cut remaining wedges into 1/2-inch-wide strips;

position over filling to resemble a flag. Seal and flute edges. Sprinkle pastry with additional sugar. Cover edges with foil.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°;

bake 35-40 minutes longer or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 8 servings.

Fourth of July pizza

1 tube (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust

2 slices process American cheese

4 string cheese, cut in half lengthwise

1 jar (15 oz.) pizza sauce

Unroll pizza dough and press onto the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a greased 15-inch x 10-inch x 1-inch baking pan. Bake at 425° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Using a 1-inch star cookie cutter, cut eight stars from the American cheese. Cut each strip of string cheese in half lengthwise. Spread pizza sauce over crust.

Arrange stars in the upper left corner. For stripes, arrange 15 pieces of string cheese over sauce (save remaining piece for another use). Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 16 slices.

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Opinion, Pages 4 on 06/30/2010